This Zucchini Lasagne Roll Ups is a favorite among family and friends. It is easy to make and just a bit lighter and healthier than traditional lasagne. As with all my recipes, you decide if you want full fat or a lighter substitution. I’m using a veggie instead of the pasta so I knew I wanted to lighten this dish up as much as possible. It makes a great option for Meatless Mondays, so keep it mind.
First, I use my own homemade Marinara Sauce but feel free to use your favorite jarred sauce. Fresh is best and when you are only using a couple of ingredients, you want to be sure they are the best quality you can afford. My Marinara Sauce is easy to make so be sure to check it out.
To get started on the dish, let’s prep the zucchini. First, cut off the ends. Then, I’ll use a vegetable peeler to peel off one long strip of the exterior peel. (discard). Then using a very sharp knife or a mandoline, cut four to five long slices out of each zucchini. You’ll discard that last bit at the end with the other side of the zucchini peel. This will give you flat zucchini slices with the interior of the vegetable showing on both sides.
When it comes to the treatment of the zucchini, you want to gets strips that are about 1/8th of an inch thick. You don’t want them so thin that they fall apart but you want them thin enough to be similar to the thickness of pasta. By roasting the zucchini first, you soften the vegetable and make the strips very flexible and easy to roll. You could also use yellow summer squash or a combination of both in this dish.
Place the zucchini strips on a baking sheet and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Roast them for 10-12 minutes until soft. Remove from the oven and let them cool. I use a silpat to keep the zucchini from sticking and to make clean up easier.
When it comes to the cheeses, I used full flavor Parmesan and low fat Mozzarella and Ricotta. Feel free to use full fat products but I was trying to lighten this recipe up and chose the lighter products. Note that the flavor does not suffer and there is no “right” choice. Use what you prefer.
My secret ingredient is the nutmeg in the filling. Years ago in New York, one of my Italian chef mentors (my boyfriend’s mom) taught me to add freshly ground nutmeg to all the cheese fillings she made for lasagne, manicotti and stuffed shells. I’ve been doing it ever since. In a pinch, I’ll use canned nutmeg but I always see her shaking a finger at me so I keep whole nutmeg in the kitchen cabinet!!!! LOL You should too! Just grate it on a rasp or fine handheld grater. Don’t worry, you aren’t going to taste it like you would in a cookie. It is very subtle and just gives it a little something extra.
The filling is easy to make, just mix the ricotta, two tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese and a quarter cup of the shredded mozzarella in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper (and don’t forget the nutmeg). Add the egg and chopped parsley and mix it all together.
Now that the zucchini has cooled and the filling is made, you are ready to assemble the zucchini rolls.
In a small casserole dish or baking dish, ladle about one half cup of the sauce on the bottom to cover the bottom of the dish.
On a cutting board, lay a couple of the cooked and cooled zucchini strips. Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling on one end of the strip and gently roll up. Try and keep the filling inside the zucchini. Once rolled, place the bundles, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Note that I used a 8 x 8 metal baking pan today. Both casserole dishes and baking bans work just fine.
Continue filling and rolling all the zucchini strips and place them in the pan or dish on top of the sauce.
Next, top the zucchini bundles with more marinara sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Finish with shredded mozzarella on top.
Let them cool in the pan for about five minutes before serving. Serve about 4 zucchini roll-ups per person with extra Parmesan on the side. For a real Italian feast, serve with Garlic Bread and my Kitchen Sink Salad.
If you like this dish, be sure to try some of my other favorite lighter Italian dishes.
Crispy Eggplant Parmesan Slices
Italian Turkey Zucchini Canoes
Zucchini Lasagne Roll Ups
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 Zucchini squash
- 1 Cup of Marinara Sauce
- ½ Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
- 4 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tbsp. Chopped fresh parsley
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry the zucchini.
- Take a small pan or baking dish and ladle ½ cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom. Put to the side.
- Mix the ricotta, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese and ¼ cup of the shredded mozzarella in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and grate the nutmeg on top of the mixture (about 1/8 teaspoon). (Yes, you can use already grated nutmeg in a jar but the fresh nutmeg is wonderful!) Add the beaten egg and chopped parsley and stir all together. Put to the side.
- Cut off the two stem ends of each zucchini. Then slice 4-5 long slices out of each zucchini. Place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake them for 10-12 minutes until soft. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of the cheese mixture onto the end of a zucchini slice and carefully roll it up. Place seam side down in the pan with the marinara sauce that you prepared in step 2. Do this with all the slices. (I got nine slices from my zucchini and created 9 rolls. I used an 8 x 8 metal pan.)
- Top the zucchini rolls with the remaining ½ cup of marinara sauce. Sprinkle with two tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese and then top with the remaining ¼ cup of Mozzarella. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and the cheese is all melty! Enjoy this healthy and tasty take on lasagna rollups.
